Economists tip RBA to keep official cash rate at 2.5 per cent

Economists are unanimously tipping that the Reserve Bank will leave the official interest rate at the historic low of 2.5 per cent today, despite a strengthening of the Australian dollar last month.

The dollar has soared since the RBA's last board meeting and the US Federal Reserve's surprise decision to leave its stimulus program unchanged.

The bank has made it clear that it wants the dollar to fall, to help rebalance the economy away from mining-led growth.

There is also increasing concern that low rates could stoke unsustainable growth in house prices.

UBS senior economist George Tharenou joined the 33 economists surveyed by Bloomberg in saying the RBA will not cut again today.

He believes the cash rate will be held steady at 2.5 per cent for the rest of the year.

"The RBA faces a tricky balancing act between overstimulating the housing market, which is already showing clear signs of improvement, with house prices accelerating in particular Sydney and Perth and some improvement in the housing construction sector, but on the other hand providing enough support to the rest of the non-mining economy," he said.

"The RBA is going to sit on its hands and take some time to assess how quickly the economy is reacting to the already substantial interest rate cuts to date."

He added that the high Aussie dollar increased the risk that the RBA may have to cut rates again, however "there are risks from strong house price growth which does provide some offset to the higher than desired Australian dollar".